The Curious Silence on Endon’s Health

[Reposted from www.Malaysia-Today.net, September 24, 2005]

The sudden announcement of Prime Minister Tun Razak’s death in 1976 stunned the nation. Malaysians had no inkling that their beloved leader was ailing. The medical professionals who took care of him and the Tun’s close associates did a superb job in protecting their man’s privacy, but they failed the nation. Malaysians were completely unprepared for the tragic news.

We now accept that the physical and mental wellbeing of our leaders is the rightful concern of citizens. The public must be appropriately informed. As the health and wellbeing of the Prime Minister’s immediate family also affects him, the nation is also entitled to such news.

It is common knowledge that Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s wife, Endon, has breast cancer and undergoing intensive chemotherapy in Los Angeles. Our prayers and thoughts are with her and her family during their difficult ordeal. I have treated many such patients and can appreciate the turmoil they and their family undergo.

We do not know the extent of her disease or the prognosis. The public is not entitled to her complete medical records; that would be a breach of patient confidentiality. On the other hand, bland reassuring statements are not adequate either.

When Nancy Reagan had breast cancer while her husband was president, her physicians gave a full public accounting, including the stage of her disease and details of treatment. We knew for example that she declined chemotherapy and opted for total removal of her breast, a therapy that was then rapidly losing acceptance.

The same full disclosure occurred with Mrs. Betty Ford. As an aside, both Mrs. Reagan and Mrs. Ford are today doing well as their disease had not advanced. Malaysians have not been assured that this is the case with Endon.

The details of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney are also released, right down to their cholesterol levels and pulse rates.

Impact of Health on Decision Making

The nation’s chief executive makes many consequential decisions. The public has a right to know the elements that could bear on that important process. His personal as well as that of his immediate family’s mental and physical health is one such element.

This has not always been the case. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s paralysis was hidden from the public, as was President Kennedy’s dependence on steroids. We will never know to what extent their medical conditions influenced their decisions.

Soon after declaring the First Gulf War, President George Bush, Sr., was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, a medical condition that among other things makes one irritable and impulsive. Was that an unrecognized factor in his making that fateful decision?

History is replete with examples of how an illness in the first family affects the fate of a nation. The last Czar of Russia, Nicholas, and his consort, Alexandra, were consumed with the illness of their only son Alexis to the extent that they neglected the affairs of state.

When there is a personal problem, especially within a loving and close-knit family, all other matters become secondary. If it were the first family, then matters of state are neglected. There were many reasons for the collapse of the Russian Empire and the success of the Bolshevik Revolution, but it certainly did not help that the Czar was distracted by and consumed with his son’s sufferings.

The health of leaders and that of their immediate family definitely has an impact on the leaders’ ability to make decisions affecting the state; hence the right of the public to be informed of such matters. That is not all, however.

During the Watergate crisis, with President Nixon preoccupied with possible impeachment, there were contingencies in place should the old man succumb to the pressure and make erratic decisions. This was especially critical as the world then was in the midst of the Cold War.

This full disclosure extends not just to matters of health but also to business and other affairs. Currently there is great scrutiny over the financial dealings of Kofi Annan’s son. When Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, there were similar inquiries on the business affairs of her grown-up children. Back in Malaysia, there were concerns recently over the involvement of one of the companies (Scomi) associated with the Prime Minister’s son. It was suspected of selling parts that could be used in making nuclear weapons.

When one of Prime Minister Blair’s children had a brush with the law, that too was duly reported, likewise when one of the Bush’s twins used a false ID to secure a drink at a local bar. The purpose of such disclosures was not to embarrass the first families (although that did happen) but to inform the public of a potential element that could affect the state of mind of the leader.

The underlying assumption is that what happens to members of the first family (or any family) have an impact on the head of that family. This in turn could adversely influence their decision-making process elsewhere.

Few leaders could compartmentalize their lives as well as President Bill Clinton did. While facing impeachment, he could continue with the affairs of state as if nothing had happened to him. At least that was the impression he was trying to create. The reality was far different. He was fast losing his effectiveness as well as presidential authority, moral and otherwise.

Paucity of Information on Endon’s Health

Malaysians are blissfully unaware of Endon’s personal battle with cancer. We all wish her well and pray for her recovery. She has been away from her husband for months now and that alone must surely place a strain on her and the Prime Minister. The emotional stress must be intense.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi appears restless and distracted. He makes frequent trips abroad, and when he is at home, he is out of his office frequently. There is no follow through on his major initiatives, like combating corruption and reform of the police force. His Minister for Federal Affairs, though found guilty for “money politics,” is still on the government payroll. The Royal Police Commission had long submitted its report, but there is nothing much happening beyond that. These are all symptoms of a man whose mind is preoccupied elsewhere. This is not amateur psychoanalysis on my part, rather simple common observation.

Sadly, Malaysians are unaware of this important matter of his wife’s illness and the extent it affects the Prime Minister’s state of mind. Should a personal tragedy occur, are the citizens assured that there is a viable contingency plan to cover such an eventuality?

While our sympathy then would naturally go to the Prime Minster and his family, the overriding concern of those entrusted with the affairs of state is that the nation’s business and security must not in any way be compromised. Malaysians must be assured of this.

Acknowledging and facing this sensitive issue right on is the first step in reassuring the citizens that we are indeed prepared.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 24th, 2005 at 7:57 am and is filed under Malaysia Today, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.